Author | Meng Xiao

For more financial information | BT Finance Data Link The article consists of 3575 words and is expected to take 9 minutes to read

“On August 7, Lei Jun activated the window shopping function and officially started live streaming sales.”

As of August 12, Lei Jun had 28.61 million followers on Douyin, exceeding Dong Yuhui's 26.92 million followers during the same period. Although there is still a gap compared to top livestreamers with hundreds of millions of followers, Lei Jun has already become a true “new king.” In fact, judging from the effect of Lei Jun's April livestream, he has already become the most popular entrepreneur in China. Recently, Lei Jun started live streaming sales, and his follower growth has been astonishing.

As the founder and chairman of Xiaomi, Lei Jun has never lacked attention. He is one of the few super-rich individuals with a massive following and a net worth exceeding ten billion yuan. Lei Jun had not previously activated window shopping, but given his large fan base, it was almost a natural progression for him to start selling products.

Recently, a "Xiaomi Mi Band 9 Series Smart Bracelet" priced at 249 yuan quietly went on sale in Lei Jun's personal Douyin store, allowing users to place orders directly through Douyin. Unlike Yang Ge, who puts in a lot of effort to promote products, Lei Jun himself did not vigorously promote the livestream, which may have contributed to the less-than-ideal sales of the Xiaomi Mi Band, with only a few thousand units sold. Surprisingly, Lei Jun's store quickly became empty, and the originally sold products were quietly removed. This sparked discussions among netizens about whether it was a test run by Lei Jun.

Previously, during his 2024 annual speech replay livestream, Lei Jun publicly stated that he actually wanted to take on commercial endorsements but had not received any offers so far. All the products he introduced were Xiaomi products that he himself approved of.

Lei Jun's foray into live streaming sales may have boosted Xiaomi's share price. Following Lei Jun's launch of the Xiaomi Mi Band on his store on August 6, Xiaomi's share price experienced a series of gains. It rose from a low of HK$15.36 on August 5 to a high of HK$16.64 on August 12, representing an increase of 8.3% in just a few days. Xiaomi became one of the few tech companies with a share price increase of over 5% within the year, which may be partly attributed to Lei Jun's strong personal brand.

1

A new king of live streaming sales has arrived

Previously, the "king of live streaming sales" on Douyin had been alternating between Dong Yuhui and Yang Ge, with Yang Ge boasting an enormous following of over 99.99 million. Dong Yuhui had consistently had more followers than Lei Jun, but with Lei Jun's annual speech and foray into live streaming sales, his follower count has surpassed Dong Yuhui by nearly 2 million, and the gap between them continues to widen.

It's not unusual for Lei Jun to deliver impressive speeches; he has been successful in previous years as well. The biggest difference this year is the launch of Xiaomi SU7. Lei Jun used the theme of "courage," starting with Xiaomi phones being sanctioned by the United States, then highlighting the recruitment of talent, personal test drives, and ultimately the record-breaking sales launch, weaving together seemingly disparate elements into an inspiring story. Many netizens were moved and impressed by the story.

When Lei Jun first embarked on car manufacturing, Zhou Shouzi, once seen as his successor, left for ByteDance, which may have been a significant blow to Lei Jun. However, he did not complain or even criticize Zhou Shouzi. Instead, he claimed to have always been good friends with Zhou and congratulated him on his appointment as a senior executive at TikTok. After Lei Jun overcame his low point, a large number of talented professionals joined the Xiaomi Automotive team, reflecting Lei Jun's commitment to car manufacturing and dedication to the cause.

Before the launch of Xiaomi SU7, media outlets predicted that its sales would not exceed 30,000 units. However, 28 days after its release, Xiaomi SU7 had already secured orders for 75,723 vehicles, far exceeding media expectations. This was a bonus point for Lei Jun and added heat to his personal brand.

During his annual speech, Lei Jun did not forget his strength – telling his own story. In addition to team stories, Lei Jun focused all his energy on sharing his own experiences. During the event, he released a video of himself drifting in a Xiaomi SU7, which became the most popular content of the night. "A billionaire boss makes me laugh and works hard to get a racing license." This has become a popular meme among Lei Jun's fans, and since then, his follower growth rate has been astonishing.

As of the evening of August 12, Lei Jun had 28.61 million followers on Douyin, surpassing Dong Yuhui, the previous "king of live streaming sales" on the platform. Lei Jun's ability to sell products through live streaming has been proven. On August 16, 2020, at 8 p.m., Lei Jun conducted his first live streaming sales event in Xiaomi's live stream room on Douyin. In just two hours, he announced that sales for the evening had exceeded 100 million yuan, with Xiaomi products selling for a total of 210 million yuan. At that time, Lei Jun's follower count was nowhere near what it is now, so if he were to start live streaming sales again, the title of "king of live streaming sales" on Douyin might change hands.

2

How strong is Lei Jun's ability to sell products through live streaming?

Zhou Hongyi once lamented, "Lei Jun's marketing skills are no longer masterful; they are godlike." As a top entrepreneur with nearly 30 million followers, Lei Jun did not miss out on the Olympic Games hype. During the Olympics, he traveled to Europe and released videos that garnered hundreds of thousands or even millions of likes. He even inadvertently promoted a sunscreen jacket priced around 100 yuan, as well as products like five-yuan watermelons and chili sauce, which all sold well when featured in his videos.

On April 18, 2024, Lei Jun inadvertently breathed new life into the virtually forgotten VANCL brand. At the time, he hosted a live stream on Douyin titled "No Sales, Just Chat," which was originally intended to introduce Xiaomi's automotive progress and delivery status. As a business livestream, it typically wouldn't attract much attention from entrepreneurs, but Lei Jun's massive following meant that over 100,000 people tuned in within the first minute of the broadcast.

During the livestream, Lei Jun wore a suit paired with a white T-shirt and jeans, drawing attention from netizens. When asked about his choice of clothing, Lei Jun revealed that he was wearing VANCL's T-shirt, jeans, and canvas shoes. "During those years when Chen Nian was starting his business, I supported him and became his unpaid spokesperson," he said.

Just a few simple words from Lei Jun sparked a renewed interest in VANCL. Ten days after the livestream, VANCL's daily sales on Douyin soared from tens of thousands to millions of yuan, a 20-fold increase. Simultaneously, VANCL's follower count surged.

During the Paris Olympics, Lei Jun invited Su Bingtian for an early morning tea session. While chatting about the culture of morning tea, Lei Jun mentioned that it's hard for Hubei people like himself to eat without chili. Suddenly, he produced a bottle of homemade chili sauce from his bag and used it to dip steamed shrimp dumplings. He offered one to Su Bingtian, who described it in one word – delicious.

Although Lei Jun bringing chili sauce to Paris may seem inconsequential, it caused a sensation online. This incident not only showcased Lei Jun's down-to-earth personality but also brought him closer to netizens. Subsequently, the chili sauce became a hit, and even the Xiaomi backpacks used in Lei Jun's livestream room were in high demand. Despite being exclusively sold on Xiaomi's automotive app store, they couldn't keep up with fan enthusiasm. Many merchants even advertised their products as "Lei Jun's same style," achieving remarkable results.

Investor Liu Bo believes that Lei Jun's powerful personal brand is unmatched. After Lei Jun's successful live stream car sales, many automakers' CEOs have tried to emulate him, but none have achieved similar results. "Lei Jun's live stream car sales may change traditional sales habits, presenting both an opportunity and a challenge for automakers. However, when learning from Lei Jun to build an entrepreneur's personal brand, companies should focus on aligning personal traits with brand image to avoid over-packaging or hype, which could lead to negative effects and undermine the hard-earned positive image," Liu Bo said.

3

Is Lei Jun's influence enviable?

Lei Jun's marketing prowess has long been widely recognized in the market. He understands consumers' pain points well and excels at integrating product endorsements into his videos, often leaving it up to viewers to guess what he's promoting.

During the Paris Games, almost every video Lei Jun posted hinted at product endorsements without explicitly showing them, piquing fans' curiosity.

It's no secret that Zhou Hongyi admires Lei Jun. Zhou has made a high-profile auction for a Maybach, chosen a car beneath his office building, and even "apprenticed" under Yang Ge to learn live streaming sales. In Yang Ge's livestream room, the usually serious Zhou Hongyi even washed Yang Ge's hair, shocking netizens.

However, Zhou Hongyi's follower growth has been modest. As of the evening of August 12, his account, "Red Shirt Uncle Zhou Hongyi," had 6.737 million followers, less than a quarter of Lei Jun's.

Lei Jun's product endorsement abilities have attracted the attention of capital and institutions. On May 27, China Merchants Bank International released a research report on Xiaomi, stating that the company's revenue and net profit performance in 2024 would exceed expectations, with an improved gross margin and optimized revenue structure.

CMBI's analysis predicts that Xiaomi Group's share price momentum, AIoT sales strength, and overseas network business revenue will continue to drive the company's profit growth in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. According to forecasts, revenue for fiscal year 2024 is expected to grow by 24% year-on-year, with adjusted net profit increasing by 19% year-on-year.

Xiaomi's performance in the first quarter of 2024 was not ideal. Xiaomi's first-quarter financial report showed revenue of 75.51 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.95%; net profit was 4.182 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.52%, compared to an 815.43% increase in net profit during the same period last year.

"Xiaomi's first-quarter report doesn't fully reflect the company's performance in 2024. At that time, Xiaomi SU7 hadn't been launched yet, and investors were still taking a wait-and-see approach. With the strong sales of Xiaomi SU7, the company's high growth in the second half of the year and throughout the year may align with many institutions' forecasts," Liu Bo said, believing that Xiaomi can achieve high growth in the second quarter and the second half of the year.

Liu Qiangdong once said in a CCTV program, "Don't compare marketing with Lei Jun. Being able to sell hundreds of millions of (Xiaomi) phones is no ordinary feat." This is a testament to Lei Jun's influence and underscores the power of his personal brand."Lei Jun's initiative to sell products through live streaming is undoubtedly a successful practice of marketing innovation in the digital economy era. Leveraging his personal charm and industry influence, he has transformed live streaming platforms into a frontier for product showcases and brand communication. This not only visually showcases Xiaomi's technological innovation and cost-effectiveness but also deepens consumers' understanding and identification with the brand's philosophy through instant interaction. This approach effectively Shortened the distance between products and consumers ， Enhanced brand affinity ， And with extremely high cost-effectiveness and authentic user experience feedback, it directly reached and influenced a large potential user group ， Achieved a dual leap in brand reputation and market share 。

As Zhou Hongyi put it, "Lei Jun saved hundreds of millions in advertising costs." The brand influence achieved through live streaming sales far surpasses traditional advertising models in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness, setting a new benchmark for marketing in the industry.